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PageA4 Winston-Salem Chronicle Thursday, January 14,1988 JUUE PERRY Advertisihfl Mana^ei YVONNE H.B. TRUHON ProGJCt on Manage* The life of 'The Dreamer' Next week most of the nation will celebrate the life of "The Dreamer." The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a giant of a man, a character for whom no single adjective could do descrip tive justice. His life of commitment, his moral strength and human com passion are indelibly printed on the pages of world history. Festiv ities and special observances across the nation will, no doubt, highlight him as a leader in the struggle for social justice and the battle against poverty. No enlightened person would deny that he had a major impact on the civil rights movement. Many would credit King with most of the economic and social progress made by Afro-Americans during the past three decades. It is easy to think of King in terms of the people who benefit ed from his courage and foresight. Most of us tend to think of King as more than a man; we think of him as a movement. We remember with passion his "I Have a Dream" speech. King was fearless; he dared to set moral standards for the world. On an international scale he decried racism, imperialism, individualism and militarism. He challenged the nations of the world to embrace peace and humanity. But more important, he set stringent standards for himself, recognizing all the while that he, too, was an imperfect being. He once said, "There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us." With sincere humility King wrote his own epitaph when he delivered his "Drum Major for Justice" speech shortly before his assassination in 1968. No individual, this year or in years to come, could do as good a job eulogizing King as he did himself. In so doing, he left a challenge for every human being on this planet who would aspire to a life where moral principles out weighed materialistic considerations. The poignancy and profundity of those words are what we wish to highlight this year on the occasion of the third national celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. We ask that you consider these excerpts from his "Drum Major " speech, and let's all vow to live so that when we die our living will have mattered. ‘Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize ...that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have 300 or 400 other awards ...that's not important. Tell them not to mention where / went to school. "I'd like '^somebody to I mention that day Ithat Martin % Luther King Jr. \tried to give his \life serving oth- icr^. I'd like for ^somebody to say \that day that wMartin Luther %King Jr. tried to ^ love somebody. "I want you I to say that day * that I tried to be right and to walk with them. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. And I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. "..J just want to leave a committed life behind." May Peace be with you. Howard Beach is everywhere NEW YORK - The attention of the nation was focused recently on the verdict handed down in the Howard Beach case. For more than a year, Howard Beach has seemed the epitome of racially motivated vio lence. The image of a horde of white youths chasing three Afro-American men through the streets like dogs, until finally forcing one of them to his death, seemed the ultimate horror. However, no Afro-American in this country is exempt from racially motivated violence - not even Afro- American police officers. A recent case in Prince George's County, Md., a suburb of Washington, has proven this all too clearly. The county, which has a long history of racist violence, has a steadily increasing Afro-Ameri can population. However, the police force still remains predominantly white. On Dec. 14, 1987, James L. Gordon, an Afro-American member of the Washington police force, was shot to death in his own home by a white policeman from Prince George's County. Gordon, 40 years old, was a 17-year veteran of the D.C. police force. The white officer, Cpl. Robert Raimcaid, though only 27 years old, had already been cited twice for police brutality in Prince George's County. In one case the complainant was awarded a $4,400 judgement against Rairaond for use of unnecessary force in a traffic case. But Cpl. Raimond was cleared by a police trial board, and so he remained on the force. allowed to remain in the house during the investigation. A Washington police officer called the non-coopera tion "highly irregular," adding, "(D.C. CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL By BENJAMIN CHAVIS JR. Last month Raimond was allegedly investigating a suspected burglary in the home of Officer Gor don, the Afro-American officCT. Offi cer Gordon had recently arrived home. When the Afro-American offi cer moved toward a window in his own house, the white officer shot him through the window. The white offi cer claimed he thought he saw a gun in Gordon's hand. Officer Gordon died a short time later, on the floor of his own home. A neighbor says the white officer never identified himself, but had only yelled, "Freeze." When an ambulance with paramedics arrived, the county police would not allow them to enter to treat Officer Gordon. County police claimed other intruders might still be in the house. Then when five Wash ington officers, including a homicide lieutenant and a district commander, arrived on the scene, they were not police) never turn away an investiga tor from another police unit." Several Afro-American police officers on the Washington force have openly called the killing racially motivated. Th^ suggest that because the house was located in a middle- class neighborhood, and because it had a two-car garage that held Offi cer Gordon's Mercedes Benz, Cpl. Rairaond assumed that the Afro- American man he saw in the house could not be its owner. On a recent call-in program on a local Afro- American radio station, some officers asked to be authorized to go in and get the white officer to bring him back to Washington in order to ensure a fair trial. The Gordtm killing is not an iso lated incident in the county. Back in December 1986, Sir Kaylin Edwards, Please see page A5 How to give and to receive NEW YORK - Suppose you got up one beautiful morning feel ing your usual wonderful self and headed off to a high-paying job -- with a very promising future. Christmas is only a few weeks away and the Spirit is everywhere. You are also a woman who has knocked down another barrier of sexism. You are averaging $1,800 every two weeks as a salesperson in the men's department at one of Winston-Salem, N.C.'s better stores. "Just think what I'm going to earn during the Christmas week," you’re thinking to yourself. Things are going well outside the workplace, also. You are proud of your work as an avid Jesse Jack- son-for-President Campaign volun teer. "Support Jesse Jackson; he needs his own," you wrote in the "Mailbag” column in the Winston- Salem Chronicle, the leading Afro- American paper, read by the city's best In one of the paper’s columns - - "Someone You Should Meet" -- you were highlighted. You are known for your work with the Big Sisters of the Triad and at your church, St. Peters Church of God ager asked you to step into a pri vate room, where you were intro duced to "an officer" and "inter viewed" by the loss prevention manager of the store. You were questioned about two TONY BROWN Syndicated Columnist CHRONICLE CAMERA Apostolic, as a hard worker and a fierce enemy of drug abuse. Your three years at Winston- Salem State University (where this writer received his first honorary doctorate) have really paid off. "I wish everyone were as happy as I am," you must have thought. On Sunday, Dec. 6,1987, how ever, God had a test for you. Just before the store closed on that fateful day, the personnel man- purchases charged to your credit card, one for $142.95 and the other for $116. Of course, these charges reflected a 30-percent discount because you are an employee of the store. You freely admitted that you had allowed your nephew and a close friend to use this restricted card more than once. For these acts, you were promptly charged with Please see page A5 Campaigning in the new year TO BE EQUAI ByJOHNEJACOB ' NEW YORK - The igss idenUal election campaign * S to turn on the minority vote, b„,Z many presidential contenders win not win Afro-American and Hk panic votes unless they u„detsa„,j' Americas need for policies an programs that lead us to a new era The candidates must begin k, addressing America's ugly, hiddj issue. Because the present poUcie, have bred intoleiance, a litmus test for every candidate will be his or her condemnaUon of all fonns of racism - in word and in deed There will be no progress while racism is alive and well. There are other priority issnes too. One is education. One-third of the workforce wiU be Afro-Ameri can and minority. Up to half of those workers will be from poveny households. Many will be dropotiis They'll lack the skills requited in our economy. We've stopped investing in people - and especially in young people at risk. All the talk about making America competitive again is nonsense without a massive ccm- mitmeni to educate and train our young people - beginning with the poorest, the most vulnerable, the most at risk. And if the politicians say we can't afford that, we'll have to tell them we can't afford not to do it. Studies show that investing in edu cation and in training programs makes people employable taxpay ers instead of consumers of welfare dollars. Such programs are actually cheaper because they return more to the Treasury than their cost. The candidates also need to focus on developing aggressive policies that meet the urgent health, housing and survival needs of the poorest among us. Families aren't homeless today because they like sleeping in parb i or shelters — they're homeless j because the government and )he private sector have stopped bi *' ing low-income housing. And today's biggest national scandal is the scandal that so few poor peqjle get Medicaid or wel fare assistance. Less than half of all poor peo ple get cash aid; 10 million poor people don't get food stamps; 30 million poor people don’t get hous ing assistance, and virtually every means-tested program for the poor | serves only a fraction of those eligi ble. Social welfare legislation is j needed to assure access to educa tion, to training, and to wwk q)por- lunities as well as to quality day care. It should include universal coverage of all pow people, and to benefit levels no lower than the poverty line. Resources and assistance should be targeted to the poorest, most vulnerable of the poor, espe cially young mothers at risk of long-term dependency. The private sector has to be part of the process of progressive change, too. It needs to do more to move minorities up the corporate ladder, and to start doing more of Please see page A5 , Budding meteorologists reveal origins of the snowfall Snow - the Triad and most Mid-Atlantic states saw lots of it recently. More than eight inches of the fluffy white stuff was dumped on the Triad area. Some statistics report that last week’s snow storm was one of the worst experienced in Winston- Salem in more than a decade. But, what is snow? What can be both beautiful, creating a post card like winter wonderland scene and at the same time, produce haz ardous driving and dangerous hardships for the city's homeless? Snow is actually frozen water vapor which comes from clouds. The vapor is formed into tiny crys tals in the clouds at temperatures below freezing. Snow flakes (or snow crystals) are said to be only a few millimeters in diameter, how ever, some snowflakes have been reported measuring larger than the Snow comes from the [Clouds. When i, ot of them i form together j they make rain! If it's cold they ^ made sleet and snow^t James Young - 'll,! Ajell'. k Y'lt comes from s ‘the sky. God | ■Just gets mad ' land it comes Idown." ■ILam ^ JAfle Lamont McCall 13 palm of a person's hand. Scientists also believe that no two snowflakes are alike. Viewed under a microscope, snow can yield an entertaining array of hexagonal symmetry. Snow is also a favorite of chil dren who often find themselves "it comes up from the sky." iLaShann Howell preoccupied with developing snowmen (and women) or reason able facimUes thereof. Snow ball fights have also become a favorite pastime in recent days. This week. Chronicle Camera asked local children, from ages "Snow's from the atmo sphere. up." I Ages four to 13, how snow is mao where it comes from. A variety of interestm I answers were received, sn I although thecommenis could I be included in the most presugiw I scientific journals, they gener , | had the ri^t idea. "Snow IS rain that has been completely. , frozen." "Ages
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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